Diary of an Old Pair of Legs March 2016

Running - 316 km this month [744 km. total for the year] Ascent - 1759 mtrs. [5023 mtrs]

Cycling - 33 km [100 km]

My Event Calendar [April] Event: Venue: Target time:

3 Waters Half Bunbury, Australia 1:50:00

This month has been a busy time, athletics wise, what with the speculation surrounding Malaysia’s event pruning for the SEA Games, which has of course gone very quiet, the usual furor followed by the total lack of interest to see the thing through.

There had been the IAAF World Indoor Championships and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, which saw my personal, current, hero, Mo Farah, come back from a seemingly hopeless position to take a great bronze behind defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor and Bedan Karoki of Kenya in a very wet and windy Cardiff. Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir was crowned women’s champion.

Then there was my own array of four events for the month, including my first ever back2back and my two ‘one offs’ that’s two consecutive races one off a top ten placing.

But my stand out item was signing up for a repeat of my first ever trail run, King of Kampong Kemensah in May.

So, my topic for this month is: Changing Surface, Adding Spice.

With less than a year and only nine trail runs under my belt I, a novice at sixty-seven, don’t intend to try and teach anyone anything, but I can throw some light upon the differences I have come across running these two very different disciplines, road and trail running.

To me trail running very much compliments my road running, I can never foresee the day when I stop pounding the tarmac in hot pursuit of the runner in front of me or of a predetermined target time, even at my age a PB albeit an after coming out of retirement PB.

But trail running is an adventure that can never be repeated, trails are forever changing be it by regrowth, foot traffic, a course designer sadistic steak or just mother nature changing the underfoot conditions with baking sun or torrential rain. The same event, the same course but expect something very different. The only time that matters is the cut-off time, we compete, of course, against each other by more so against the elements, the conditions and ourselves.

So, what of the differences. Well, first let us clear away the interchangeable elements – we put one foot in front of the other until we reach the end and that’s it.

TRAINING: Gone are dialed in paces and stride cadence on straight road with smooth sweeping turns to be replaced by ever changing underfoot conditions requiring constant changes in the foots angle of attack and required speed of movement. Steep inclines, sharp turns, impossible descents along with the inevitable river-crossing, anything from ankle to neck deep, add to demands put upon the body from top to bottom. Running trails becomes a search for the feel for the effort required rather than the speed, so much so that I feel quite at ease running training trails without a watch whereas I would feel naked on the roads.

So, modifications to normal training have predominately been additional speed work to quicken up my foot movement, obviously running on trails when possible but adding in stair-climbs when not. But, the biggest addition has been to my strength training. The constant changes in speed and direction put a great deal of additional strain on various parts of the body and hardening the core is prominent to aid with balance and control of form. And, the ‘Hams’ the driving force up those hills need to be worked on like never before. For example, yesterday I was put through a series of squat exercises, body-weight and with up to twenty kilos of additional weight, the session totaled just over three-hundred individual squats, thanks Martyn.

It quickly became very evident that what I have in the confidence, or stupidity as my wife puts it, to move swiftly down even quite technical sections is an asset but it is the climbing up where I have my shortcomings. Improving my technique for descending could save me several minutes in an event. However, improving my ability to ascend could save me hours so it’s squats and hill repeats for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

All the sweat and pain of getting better at ascending is admittedly hard, but, I have found that training my mind is the most challenging element for this new discipline. Never before have I had to fight so hard with the ‘neg-nags’ “Go slower it’s dangerous”, “Take a few more minutes at this station, you need a rest”, “You’ll never get up that” or “You’re not that good a swimmer, turn back”. Positive thinking for hours at a time takes some doing, concentration cannot waver, but at the finish line you have beaten one hell of a defier, that little voice in your head.

Additionally, and for me still very much work in progress, is training to eat and drink for trail runs. Road running is easy, divide the distance up into one-hour segment, during each section consume sixty grams of carbs, dink to thirst. Pretty much sorted. Not so on the trails, first of all forget distance per se, trails by their very nature are more about the ups and downs and therefore running, so, consequentially, nutrition and hydration is used up much more rapidly. Drinking to thirst is still my mantra but I am still struggling to handle the food aspect. Feeding on the run, now that I accept that slowing down to do so isn’t a crime, has more or less been conquered. The when is easy, little and often, every twenty to thirty minutes from start to finish. But what to eat? Gels get too sickly, bars become muesli after a few kilometres. The latest trials are being undertaken with a mixture of dried fruit, nuts, potatoes and chocolate so watch this space.

KIT: Changes in kit have certainly make a difference, Shoes are the most obvious change and arguably the only ‘must’ change item. But, there are others to be considered. Many trail runners use apparel manufactured by trail specialist companies such as Salomon or Merrell which tend to be more expensive than even the likes of Nike so until I am convinced that there is value in the additional cost I have remained loyal to my favourite cheaper brands.

Then there is the mandatory safety items that should be required at most events, well at least the longer ones. GPS locatable mobile phones usually have to be carried along with Head-torch, Thermal blanket, First aid kit, Whistle and Wet/Cold weather gear. So, this little lot plus my nutrition and hydration have added several extra kilos to my running weight. Even though I have been road running ‘water self-sufficient’, with a water belt, for a few years now the necessity, for me at least, of wearing a rucksack with a water bladder very quickly became apparent.

Oh yes, the Buff, I can’t forget the Buff. That cleaver ring of cloth that is a hat, a neck warmer, a sweat band, a mouth cover, an eye protector and doubles up as a general mopping up cloth.

The ups and downs of trail running.